Trotline storing and handling means



8" 7, 1965 H. o. EARLY 3,200,533

TROTLINE STORING AND HANDLING MEANS Filed April 16. 1964 Jill Hallie 0 E ar/y INVENTOR.

BY Mm min M 3m United States Patent C) 3,200,533 TROTLINE STORING AND HANDLING MEANS Hallie 0. Early, 1407 East Ave. E, Brownwood, Tex. Filed Apr. 16, 1964, Ser. No. 360,360 2 Claims. (Cl. 43-545) This invention relates to a manually usable trotline storing and handling device having improved self-contained facilities whereby the user can pay out the stored trotline and hook-equipped drop lines in an unhampered timesaving manner and without encountering hook-tangling or other perplexing difficulties.

Briefly the invention is characterized by two components, namely, a simple reel on which the trotline can be hand-wound and stored, and a hook orienting and storing sheath, the latter being fixed to a median lengthwise edge portion of said reel and depending angularly therefrom and being such inconstruction that it greatly assists the user in systematically grouping and protectively storing the hooks and, alternatively, bringing the hooks progressively into use in an orderly sequence, that is, when paying out the trotline for use.

To the ends desired the reel comprises a simple wooden or equivalent buoyant elongated block having end notches which provide suitable crotches for winding and unwinding the trot line quickly and evenly. The hook storing and shielding member comprises a suitable non-corrodible tube or sleeve preferably, but not necessarily, cylindrical in cross-section. This sleeve has a slot in one side which is properly lined up with an anchor or retainer in the hollow portion of the sleeve and which functions to rack the barbed hook portions of the fishhooks in a manner which expedites the step-by-step mode of assembling the hooks for compact and convenient storage and also the step-by-step sequence when paying out the overall line.

In carrying out a preferred embodiment of the invention the hook storing and sheathing sleeve is fixed to a 'median part of one lengthwise edge portion of the reel where it is in an excellent place to facilitate dispensing the hooks one at a time and subsequently racking and storing the hooks when the trotline is retrieved.

These together with other objects and advantages which will become subsequently apparent reside in the details of construction and operation as more fully hereinafter described and claimed, reference being had to the accompanying drawings forming a part hereof, wherein like numerals refer to like parts throughout, and in which:

FIGURE 1 is a view in perspective of a trotline storing and handling device constructed in accordance with the invention and showing the manner in which the parts are constructed and employed;

FIGURE 2 is a bottom plan view;

FIGURE 3 is an end elevation;

FIGURE 4 is an exploded perspective view on an enlarged scale showing the storing and sheathing sleeve and its normally enclosed and concealed hook positioning and anchoring fork;

FIGURES 5 and 6 are sections taken on the section lines 5-5 and 66, respectively of FIGURE 1; and

FIGURE 7 is a view in section taken on the plane of the section line 77 of FIGURE 2.

The two principal component parts or units are denoted by the numerals 8 and 10, respectively. The part 8 comprises a simple buoyant wooden or equivalent block having upper and lower longitudinal parallel edges 12 and 14 and provided at its respective transverse ends with substantially semicircular cutouts or notches 16 and 18. These notches serve to transform a simple elongated block into a correspondingly simple hand line Winding reel. The numeral 20 conveniently designates the upper halfportion of the block or reel and the numeral 22 the ICC lower portion which as is clear carries the fixedly mounted depending hook enclosing and storing member 20.

The trotline, which is a conventional type, is denoted by the numeral 24 and, as is usual, is provided with flexible leaders 26 one end 28 of which is secured to the trotline. These leaders are provided on their lower free ends with conventional fishhooks denoted generally at 30. Accordingly, they are referred to as hook-equipped drop lines and are attached to the trotline at desired longitudinally spaced points. Each fishhook comprises a shank 32 and a barbed bill or hook portion 34. The notched end portions 16 and 18 of the reeling block provide convenient crotches for orderly winding and storing the portion of the line thereon as denoted generally at 36 (FIG. 1). Also as shown in FIG. 1 one terminal end portion 38 of the trotline is suitably tied or otherwise connected and held in place. It will be evident that with this construction the trotline and droplines are uniformly stored on the reel and the complemental storing unit 10 is employed for orderly racking and storing the fishhooks 30.

'The hook storing unit comprises a simple, practical, non-corrodible metal or equivalent open-ended tube or sleeve of suitable cross-section and length. The upper end portion of the sleeve (see FIG. 4) has tongues 40 which are struck out therefrom and are bent outwardly whereby they radiate from the tube in coplanar relationship. The tongues are diametrically opposite and are provided with screw holes 42 and in practice these tongues abut the edge 44 of the block or reel and are screwed and thus fastened thereto as denoted at 44. By striking out the tongues the portions of the tube projecting above the tongue constitute suitable furcations 46 which straddle opposite surfaces or faces of the block in the manner shown. Stated otherwise the block, that is, a suitable edge portion 14, is seated in the diametrically opposite notches and is fastened to the ears or lugs and accordingly, the furcations 46 straddle the block and securely assemble the two parts 8 and 10 in proper coordinating and easy-to-use relationship. The projecting unattached portion of the sleeve is provided with a longitudinally disposed slot 48 for the shank portions of the aforementioned hooks 30 which slot opens at its bottom or lower end through the open bottom portion 50 of the sleeve. The hollow portion of the sleeve is provided with hook racking and anchoring means. This means preferably comprises a simple two-fingered fork which is denoted by the numeral 52. The fork has an attaching head 54 at its upper end which is fixed in any suitable manner to the bottom edge of the reel so that the fork fingers 56 depend Within the hollow portion of the sleeve but terminate short or upwardly of the open end 50. This fork is lined up with a slot so that the user finds it an easy matter to take the fishhooks one by one and insert the shank so that it can be slid upwardly into the slot through the open lower end and the hook portion fitted in the slot means between the two fork fingers or arms 56. This relationship of a single hook which is racked and held in position is illustrated, for example, in FIG. 2.

As many as a dozen more or less hooks can be racked on the fork with the shank portions in sequential relationship in the slot. This allows one to group the hooks in proper sequence and thus when the trotline 24 has been stored on the reel as suggested in FIG. 1 one or more of the fishhooks will then have been simultaneously stored protectively within the confines of the sleeve or shield. When paying out the trotline the hooks are removed one by one from the sleeve and without hinderance.

The foregoing is considered as illustrative only of the principles of the invention. Further, since numerous modifications and changes will readily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired to limit the invention 7 to the exact construction and operation shown and described,'and accordingly all suitable modifications and equivalents may be resorted to, falling within the scope of the invention as claimed.

What is claimed as new is as follows:

i 1. Manually usable trotline storing and dispensing means comprising a line winding and storing reel, and a hook storing safeguarding sheath fixedly mounted on and carried by said reel, said sheath comprising a tube which is open at the hook inserting and removing end, said tube havinga slot in one side, one end of said slot opening through the open end of said tube, said slot functioning to permit the shank portions of the hooks to be system- I aticallyr slid and removably held therein, and keying and retaining means fixed within the hollow portion of said tube and aligned with said slot and serving to permit the barbed hooked ends of the individual hooks to be retentively connected therewith, whereby the line having leader-like drop lines is Wound and stored on the reel,

and the drop line hooks are stored and sheathed for manual step-by-step Withdrawal in said sheath, said tube being open-ended, one end thereof having tongues struck out therefrom at diametrically opposite places, said tongues being bent laterally outward and providing furcations and intervening notches, and an edge portion of said body being seated in the notches straddled by the furcations and said tongues constitutingattaching and assembling tabs and the latter being affixed to .coacting edges of said reel.

2. In combination, a'hand line reel comprising an elongated :block havingnotched ends to facilitate confining and winding a portion of a trotline thereon for storage, a sleeve at right angles to and having one end portion attached to an end portion of said reel, said sleeve being open at its bottom and provided at one side with a slot, said slot opening through saidbottom, and fork means fixed within the confines .of the hollow portion of said sleeveand. coordinated with said slot to facilitate orderly anchoring of barbed portions of 'a plurality of fishhooks thereon whereby to permit the hooks to be applied and removedin adesired sequential order, .said fork means comprising a two-fingeredv fork having an upper end afiixedto a lower edge portion of said block, the upper portion of said sleeve having diametrically 0pposite furcations straddling said block.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATESJPATENTS SAMUEL KOREN, Primary Examiner, 

1. MANUALLY USABLE TROTLINE STORING AND DISPENSING MEANS COMPRISING A LINE WINDING AND STORING REEL, AND A HOOK STORING SAFEGUARDING SHEATH FIXEDLY MOUNTED ON AND CARRIED BY SAID REEL, SAID SHEATH COMPRISING A TUBE WHICH IS OPEN AT THE HOOK INSERTING AND REMOVING END, SAID TUBE HAVING A SLOT IN ONE SIDE, ONE END OF SAID SLOT OPENING THROUGH THE OPEN END OF SAID TUBE, SAID SLOT FUNCTIONTION TO PERMIT THE SHANK PORTIONS OF THE HOOKS TO BE SYSTEMATICALLY SLID AND REMOVABLY HELD THERIN, AND KEYING AND RETAINING MEANS FIXED WITHIN THE HOLLOW PORTION OF SAID TUBE AND ALIGNED WITH SAID SLOT AND SERVING TO PERMIT THE BARBED HOOKED ENDS OF THE INDIVIDUAL HOOKS TO BE RETENTIVELY CONNECTED THEREWITH, WHEREBY THE LINE HAVING LEADER-LIKE DROP LINES IS WOUND AND STORED ON THE REEL 